The Exchanges

Q Alright, so you go into, uh, an exclusive negotiating period of the Ahu is quiet. This is in 2003, which is pretty great, and it's just, you know, three years after you launch, and, uh, they're going into your data, they're doing all the diligence, Were you, were you, did you think it was going to go through that Yahoo was going to be the acquirer?

A We thought it had a good likelihood, but then they started kind of like pushing back on some of the price as deal negotiators do. And, uh, uh, yeah, at the end of the day, in January of 2004, our traffic just shot up because we didn't realize it at the time, but January was a really big traffic month. Everyone after, uh, after they opened their Christmas presents, they hit the internet and start planning to travel somewhere. And, uh, we saw a massive spike, which in our mind meant the company was meaningfully more valuable. And that was too hard for Yahoo to swallow. So, uh, we, we took a very deep breath and, uh, and walked away.

AI assessment note: “We thought it had a good likelihood, but then they started kind of like pushing back”

Q Um, in, I think in 20 11, you, you, the company once again kind of spun out of Expedia and went public. What, what's the story behind that? What, why did you, how, and why did you become an independent company again?

A Yeah, the general answer was, uh, we were a fast growing, successful, profitable media company, and Expedia was a traditional online travel agency transaction company. And there was an opinion around that said, like, we're kind of probably looking at different types of investors. Uh, yet we were one ticker. We were one stock. And so eventually they said, Hey, this, uh, uh, let's just make it easier for our investors. We will dividend a share of TripAdvisor to all Expedia shareholders, and they will be two completely separate, independently run companies. Uh, big change for me was all of a sudden I was the public company CEO and I had never done that before. And, like, it was never a goal of mine to be a public company CEO, but sounded like it would be interesting, to say the least, so I was up for it, and, and that's how it happened.

AI assessment note: “We will dividend a share of TripAdvisor to all Expedia shareholders”

Q And the business model you eventually arrived at, the one that, uh, that of course wound up working, I guess kind of grew out of this really critical decision that you You made around this time, which was to make the site public, right? You basically opened, uh, TripAdvisor up so that anyone could see it, right?

A Yes, and so search engines were finding us, and, you know, some folks were, were finding it, and, uh, you know, and we had our web analytics, some people are coming to the site, and what we eventually did find leveraged the fact of, like, If you are a consumer, if you're a traveler on the site, and you are looking at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in the middle of New York City, and we give you some reviews and some rankings, and I'm like, hey, I might want to stay here. The consumer insight says the next thing that traveler wants is Is it available for when I'm going to be in New York and how much is it going to cost? Yeah. So we created a text link that said check price and availability. And if you clicked on that link, we sent you to the Marriott marquee page on Expedia.

AI assessment note: “Yes, and so search engines were finding us, and, you know, some folks were”

Q you had, I think, four kids at that time, and, She, she passed away in 2005. This was all happening. All of this Happening in the business was happening while you were dealing with this. I can't even imagine how challenging that, that was in your personal life. Um, how are you doing that? How are you, how are you dealing with that and also everything we just talked about?

A You know, my wife and my kids came, came first. We did the best we could by way of caring. It was a Pancreatic neuroendocrine tumor. It's a really tough type of cancer to deal with. I, but yeah, that, that was my priority. Trip advisor was second. The board knew it. The company knew it. I, you know, I also liked being able to put my head in work at times because I was, you know, that's, that's all, that's all encompassing. That's all I, I, I can do the context switch from when I'm home to, to when I'm at work, but, you know, for all the chemo appointments, I'm like, yeah, that was, of course, in my view, that was me at the hospital with her. I, just as I would expect the same for, uh, and, and how I feel we've, we've supported all of our employees that have gone through anything similar.

AI assessment note: “my wife and my kids came, came first... Trip advisor was second.”

Q Um, and, um, I know you had help, of course, including from, from family. Steve, I'm, I'm sorry to ask you this, but I think it's a really important question to ask because I think you, you can at least offer some insights on, on your experience, and I, I hesitate because, you know, I can't imagine how traumatic that time was, but how did you manage your own grief?

A Yeah, a fair question. You know, when you, when you first get a diagnosis, you're like, oh my God, this upends your life. This changes everything. And, uh, you go into like, well, what am I going to do about it mode? And you try to find the best healthcare you can. You set things up so, uh, you know, you disrupt the kid's life as, as little as, as possible. And my late wife was, was a trooper about it in terms of Accepting what the outcome was likely to be, and, you know, being part of the journey with the kids, and grief is, in chatting with other people, you know, very individualized. Yeah. I found TripAdvisor to be much more of a blessing than a burden, because as I said before, I'm like, starting with, you know, Nick and Tom and Langley as co-founders, like, these were great people to work with. They could run the company without me. I, I really appreciate that level of confidence that my teammates provided during that time.

AI assessment note: “I found TripAdvisor to be much more of a blessing than a burden”